The Left Brain. The left-side of the brain is considered to be adept at tasks that involve logic, language and analytical thinking. The left-brain is often described as being better at:

• Language

• Logic

• Critical thinking

• Numbers

• Reasoning

The Uses of Right-Brain, Left-Brain Theory. While often over-generalized and overstated by popular psychology and self-help texts, understanding your strengths and weaknesses in certain areas can help you develop better ways to learn and study. For example, students who have a difficult time following verbal instructions (often cited as a right-brain characteristic) can benefit from writing down directions and developing better organizational skills.

 (Abridged from: http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/a/left-brain-right-brain.htm)

Answer the questions below:

1. What do different types of thinking depend on?

2. What do the abilities that are popularly associated with the right side of the brain include?

3. What is left-brain often described as being better at?

Text 7. Problem-solving

Read the text and give a short summary of each paragraph.

Problem-Solving is the process of finding a solution to an unfamiliar task, using the knowledge we have. The way in which people solve problems best depends largely on the unique situation. In some cases, people are better off learning everything they can about the issue and then using factual knowledge to come up with a solution. In other cases, creativity and insight are the best options.

There are a number of different views of how people solve problems. We shall consider two of the more recent and influential views: Gestalt theory and the problem space theory.

Gestalt Theory claims that problem solving is productive and reproductive. Reproductive problem solving draws on previous experiences whereas productive problem solving involves insight and restructuring of the problem. Reproductive problem solving could be a hindrance to finding a solution, since a person may fixate on the known aspects of a problem and so be unable to see novel interpretations that might lead to a solution. A well known example of this is Maier’s `pendulum problem’. The problem was to tie together pieces of string hanging from the ceiling. However, they were far too apart to catch hold of both at once. The room was full of other objects including pliers, poles and extensions. Although various solutions were proposed by participants, few chose to use the weight of the pliers as a pendulum to swing the strings together. However, when the experimenter brushed against the string, setting it in motion, a lot of participants came up with the idea. This can be interpreted as an example of productive restructuring. This experiment also illustrates fixation: participants were unable to see any method beyond the use of a pair of pliers.

The Problem Space Theory was proposed by Newell and Simon. The theory says that problem solving centers around the problem space. This space comprises of problem states which can be generated using legal transition operators.

For example, imagine you are reorganizing your office and you want to move the desk from one end to another. The two different states are represented by the locations of the desk. A number of operators can be applied to move these things: they can be carried, pushed, dragged etc. In order to ease the transition between the states, you have a new sub-goal: to make the desk light. These may involve operators such as removing drawers and so on.

Within the problem space framework, experience allows us to solve problems more easily since we can structure the problem space appropriately and choose operators efficiently.

Analogy In Problem-Solving. People solve novel problems by mapping knowledge in a similar known domain to it. For instance, to destroy malignant tumour it is essential to fire low intensity rays from all sides, as high intensity rays can damage healthy tissues. An analogous case is that of attacking a fortress. However, people miss analogous information unless it is semantically close to the problem domain.

The Steps In Problem-Solving. In order to correctly solve a problem, it is important to follow a series of steps. Many researchers refer to this as the problem-solving cycle (Sternberg, 2003), which includes developing strategies and organizing knowledge. While this cycle is portrayed sequentially, people rarely follow a rigid series of steps to find a solution. People often skip steps or even go back through steps multiple times until the desired solution is reached.

1. Identifying the Problem: While it may seem like an obvious step, identifying the problem is not always as simple as it sounds. In some cases, people might mistakenly identify the wrong source of a problem, which will make attempts to solve it inefficient or even useless.

2. Defining the Problem: After the problem has been identified, it is important to fully define the problem so that it can be solved.

3. Forming a Strategy: The next step is to develop a strategy to solve the problem. The approach used will vary depending upon the situation and the unique preferences of the individual.

4. Organizing Information: Before coming up with a solution, we need to first organize the available information. What do we know about the problem? What do we not know? The more information that is available, the better prepared we will be to come up with an accurate solution.

5. Allocating Resources: Of course, we don't always have unlimited money, time and other resources to solve a problem. Before you begin to solve a problem, you need to determine how high priority it is. If it is an important problem, it is probably worth allocating more resources to solving it. If, however, it is a fairly unimportant problem, then you do not want to spend too much of your available resources into coming up with a solution.

6. Monitoring Progress: Effective problem-solvers tend to monitor their progress as they work towards a solution. If they are not making good progress toward reaching their goal, they will reevaluate their approach or look for new strategies.

7. Evaluating the Results: After a solution has been reached, it is important to evaluate the results to determine if it is the best possible solution to the problem. This evaluation might be immediate, such as checking the results of a math problem to ensure the answer is correct, or it can be delayed, such as evaluating the success of a therapy program after several months of treatment.

(Abridged from: http://psychology.about.com/od/problemsolving/f/problem-solving-steps.htm)

Answer the questions below:

1. What are those numerous views of how people solve problems?

2. In what way is mapping knowledge consistent with analogy?

3. What step of Problem-solving can you adduce?